Conveying device for locomotive-stokers



H. LINDSAY. CONVEYING DEVICE FOR LOCOMOTIVE STOKERS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I2. |919.

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H. LINDSAY. CONVEYING DEVICE FOR LOCOMOTIVE STOKERS. APPLICATION FILED AER. 12| |9|9| 1,386,4:1 6. Patented Aug. 2, 1921. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 2- i QQ/Ma: @5E/1y,

5% 70m; WMM,

lum/Mags H. LINDSAY.

CONVEYING DEVICE FOR LOCOMOTIVE STOKERS. APPLICATION FILED APR. I2, 1919.

1,386,416. y PaIenIedIIug. 2,1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

H. LINDSAY. CONVEYING DEVICE FOR LocoMoTlvE sToKERs.

APPLICATION FILED APR. l2. 1919.

Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4- fare/fior 1% WIM@ H. LINDSAY.

CONV'EYING DEVICE FOR LOCOMOTIVE STOKERS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. r2, |919 1,386,41 6. PatentedAug. 2, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5- J aaai? UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

CONVEYING DEVICE FOR LOCOMOTIVE-STOKERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

Application iled April 12, 1919. Y Serial No. 289,742.

To all w hom t may concern Be it known that I, HAMILTON LINDSAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Willoughby, in the county of'Lake and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and usefull Improvement in Conveying Devices for Locomotive-Steigers, of which the following j, is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a conveying device adapted primarily for use on locomotives for automatically carrying coal from the tender to a point adjacent to the fire box. My conveyer is well adapted for feeding coal substantially continuously to an automatic throwing device which projects comparatively small amounts of coal into the fire box. Such a device is shown, described and claimed in my prior application No. 196,128, filed October 12, 1917, of which the present application is in the nature of a division.

The object of the present invention is to provide simple and efficient means for automatically receiving the coal from the tender and propelling it to a point adj acent to the fire box by a mechanism which is designed to prevent the coal becoming compaeted in its travel and which is not interfered with by varying sizes or conditions of the coal. The invention is hereinafter more fully described in connection with an approved embodiment shown in the drawings, and the essential characteristics are summarized in the claims ln the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of my conveyer embodied on a locomotive and tender, portions of which are shown; Fig 2 is a plan of the conveyer shown in Fig 1 with parts Ain section and some parts broken away; Fig 3 is a side elevation taken from the opposite side to Fig. 1; Fig 4.- is a perspective view of the conveyer box on the tender; Fig. 5 is a plan of the plunger in the locomotive conveyer; Fig. 6 isa side elevation of such plunger; Fig. 7 is a plan of the conveyer box on the locomotive; Fig. 8 is a side elevation of such box; Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a transverse section on the line 10-10 of Fig. 7; Fig. 11 is a cross section of the locomotiveplunger as indicated bythe line 11-11 on Fig 5; Fig. 12 is a cross section of the tender plunger as indicated by the line 12-12 on Fig. 2.

In Figs. 1 and 3, A indicates the rear end of a locomotive fire box, B the floor of the cab, C the floor of the tender, D the bridge plate extending from floor to Hoor. The conveyer mechanism constituting the subject matterof this invention is carried beneath the respective floors and bridge plate and is adapted to convey the coal from the tender te a position at the rear of fire openings Gr through the rear wall of the fire box.

Fitted around the openings G, are the forward ends of long box-like casings extending rearwardly and downwardly beneath the deckl B, of the locomotive. These casings are indicated at 1 and 2 and preferably are made in the nature of sheet metal boxes, the

side walls of which are enlarged adjacent the l fire box and secured thereto by angle brackets 3, each having one iiange secured to the box side and the other secured to the boiler plate A. The casing preferably has its side Walls and bottom composed of plates and angles riveted or welded together asshown in Figs. 7-10, while being closed for a greater part of its length by a removable top plate 4i, carrying a hopper 5. Within the housings 1 and 2, are plungers, for conveying the coal forwardly toward the fire box, and means for intermittently throwing a small portion of the coal through the opening G, as will be hereinafter described.

The coal is brought from the tender along box-like conveyers or chutes 6 and 7 secured to the under side of the tender deck C, and extending forwardly therefrom over the hoppers 5. These boxes are also preferably constructed of rolled metal and angles as shown in Fig. 4 and are open at both ends.

lVithin each of the housings or chutes 1, 2, 6 and 7 are peculiarly shaped plungers arranged to advance the coal along the housing and designed to avoid wedging or clogging thereof. These housings are smooth on iTheplung'ers within'the chutes 1 and 2 com# located betweenthe webs 18 and 19. VThe horizontal webs 18 and `19and the verticalv webs 17 all terminate at the outer sides of the mentioned, 1

The transverse wall 10 and. the shoulders .ciprocating plungers described, in both the 12'to V15 formfthe surfaces which urge the 'coal forwardlygand upwardly along the housings when the plunger is reciproeated. The "coal'bei'ng admitted adjacentto the wall 10 ybetween the walls 11,"as it movesupwardly Y lis allowed to spread laterally, thus entirely Iavoiding a'nyvpac'king or wedgiiig and consequently:rendering the movement'of fthe 'coalcomparatively easy. The top and bottoni members 18 and 19 closely meet the top and bottom walls of the boxes 1 and 2 on the locomotive andthe bottom of the box and Y' Y the'unde'r side ofthe tender floor on the tender, Y'while in each vcase the outer edges of these plunger portions form a closefconnectionwith the side walls of the conveyer boxes, thus preventing even vthefine particles` ofcoall from wedging between the plungers and walls of theboxes. A n

The hoppers'5, receiving the coal from theforwardends of the chutes 6 and, lering the coal to the reduced' receiving' space ofthe plungerbetween the 'vwallsll of the locomotive plungers. .To prevent any of the Vcoal inthe hopper from catching between the upper portion of the wall 10 and the forward edge of thehopper, I provide a hingedplate 20, pivoted at 21 tothe cover 4 and having its rear end rounded inwardly land downwardly .so thatv a piece vof vcoal coming betweenthe wall 10 of the plunger and the rounded portion of this plate at 22, mayfraise the plate suiliciently to prevent its wedgingV or breaking any vof the parts. To retain the coal against backward movement with the plunger. in case gravity will not suliiciently holdit I mayv provide' on the Yunderside Yof the plate 2O .hinged lingers 25 ('zapable of swinging forwardly but stopping 1n their rearward movement in substantially vertical position. Y The c'oal may pass these fingers freelyon the forward movement but lodges Iagainst them ontlie return movement of the "p unger. y Y

,'The downward movement of the cover is limited .the downward-movement of the st rip 23j-while @weight V24 urges this plate downwardly so that recession ofthe plungervv Abringing a Vwider portion between its walls verse portionv 30, andhforwardly extending .portions 33. f Theseforwardly extending Vportions are 'stepped outwardly by shoulders designated 34 and longitudinal surfaces 35. The extreme ends of these plungers are Vbeveled at their forward ends as shown at to gather the coal inwardly to va certain extent and' insure into the hoppers 5.V c

I find. that by employing the'stepped reits readily passing locomotiveV conveyers'and the tender con-V veyers, I vcanp'ositively feed small amountsk of` coal anda-t the same .time keepthe mass of the coal in the housings constantly loosened so that it 'will not clog.

In the deck C of the tender are openings lpreferably substantially twice Vthe length of the movement of the plunger andthe 'plungers in the boxes 6 and 7 have near their rear ends, inwardly projecting horizontal flange ears 38m-[theirl first steps as shown in Figs. 2 andv 12,V so that the plunger opening'niay aline V'with the opening 39 in the tender' ioor 'irrespectivefof the position of the plunger'. nThe .upper webs Afof these plungers extend rearwardly far enough to 1 prevent i the coal droppingv behind the plungersf Y The mechanism for actuating the plungers is correlated with'mechanisin for operating l the throwing device 'at theforward end of the conveyer. I will first describe the plunger actuation and then give a Vbrief description of "the particular throwing mechanism shown, though itis to be understood thatV the throwing mechanism shown is described and claimedv in my vprior application referred to, andthe conveyerofthe present applicationmay be used in vconnection with any suitable throwing mechanism.

icc

Preferably secured to one ofthe cross beams K ofthe locomotive frame is a shaft 55 extending transversely beneath the chute 1 andfliournaled to the beam K by suitable vbrackets 56. As a means for actuating the two' 4plungers in the chutes 6; and 7 simultaneously, may connect those. plungers with the shaft55 in theV following manner: Securedto the plunger V bypins 58 fitting in holes 59 in' the plungers is a cross bar 60. Secured tothe cross bar 60 are ears 61 to 'which is pivoted a linkl62, the forward end of which is pivoted to a lever 65 pivoted atV 66 to a bracket 67 secured to theunder side of the tender conveyerbox. The Alower portion of thislever 6,5` connects Vwith a-link 70 having an extensionlpivoted to arock arm 72;V An intermediate joint 75 is prefer- 1 ably provided between the links 7 O and 71.

vmanner as the cross beam 60. This cross beamgoperates in longitudinal openings in the inner side walls of the chutesl and 2.

It willbe seen that the actuation of the rock shaft 55 will cause simultaneous movement ofthe two sets of plungers, the plungers on the tender moving in one direction while the plungers on the locomotive are moving in the opposite direction.

I prefer also to make the lower portion of the lever 65 longer than the upper por= tion, or I may provide an adjustment in the arms 7 2 and 7 6, to cause the forward plungers to move a greater distance than Vthe plungers on the tender, with the result that the coal cannot be fed by the rear plungers fast enough to congest the passages of the forward plungers.y

As a convenient means for actuating the shaft 55 and accomplishing the movement of the plungers, as well as the movements of the throwing blades and other parts, I have illustrated at 85 a steam engine cylinder having a driving connection with a worin 87 meshing with the worm wheel 88 driving a connecting rod 89 pivoted at its lower end to a rock arm 90 rigid on the shaft 55.

Rigid on the shaft 55, is a face cam 92 having a groove 98, embracing a pin or stud 94 projecting from an arm 95 pivoted as Ashown at 96 to a bracket on the bottom of the plunger box 2. Upon the reciprocation of the shaft 55, the cam 92 is oscillated swinging the lever 95 upwardly and downwardly, which acts through a link 97 pivotally connected to the lever 95`and to an arm 98 on a shaft 100, extending transversely across the face of the inclined end A of the boiler and beneath the forward ends of the chutes 1 and 2. rlhe arm 98 is keyed to the shaft 100, and arms 102, also rigid with the shaft, are connected by links 1031, with the projections 104 integral with the bracket arms 48 beneath the throwing blades, whereby the oscillation of the rock shaft 100 swings the brackets 48 carrying the stop flanges 49 upwardly.

The throwing devices which receive the coal discharged at the forward ends of the conveyers includethrowing blades or shovels 45 (one for eachv conveyer) mounted on a transverse shaft 46 extending through the forward end Vof the boxes 1 and 2 andclosely adjacent to the fire wall A. The rockshaft v46 'is vintermittently rotated through asuffi- Yjournaled to the shaft 46 at each side of the connections of the blade 45 to the shaft, as indicated at 48 and extending rearwardly beneath the shovel or blade and carrying at the rear end thereof an upturned flange 49 adapted to stop the progress of coal, when the shovel is moved upwardly to throw its load into the lire box. When the flange 49 is in its up position, it overlaps the lower edge of an arcuate cover plate 50 hinged by a rod 51 to the side walls of the boxes 1 and 2. The downward movement of the cover is limited by a strip 52 having its ends overhanging the side walls as indicated in Fig. 7. The bracket arms 48 and the throwing blade 45 are moved through their respective arcs at the proper time to accomplish the throwing of coal into the fire box and to allow coal to lill up back of the flange 49, while the blade is absent from the Vreceiving position.

The means for giving the throwing blades a sudden upward and forward movement is shown as follows: A short arm 105 on the shaft 46 on which the throwing blades are rigidly keyed, is connected by a link 106 with an actuating lever 107 pivoted at 108 to a bracket 109 secured to the transverse I- beam K, of the locomotive. The lever 107 carries a laterally extending cap 110 in which seats one end of a compression spring 112 having its lower end seating in a cap shown at 113. On the shaft 55 is a cam 115 coacting with a roller 114 rigid on the arm 107 to depress that arm and compress the spring 112 to the position shown in Fig. 1 where it is latched. A hinged strut 117 attached at 118 to a bracket 111 is adapted to bear its lower end against a lug or roller 120 carried on the arm 107, thus holding this arm down with the spring 112 compressed and the throwing blade or shovel 45 in its receiving position. At the same time the arm 95 is actuated by the cam 92 and the connections with the flange stop 49 are so positioned that these stops are lowered, allowing coal to pass across them and onto the throwing blades.

After a predetermined amount of coal has been depositedY on the throwing blade by the forward movement of the plunger', the upward movement of the lever 90 actuates the rock shaft 55 to cause the cam 92 to swing the lever 95 upwardly, thus raising the stop flange 49 through the connections described. The actuation of the rock shaft 100 in this movement causes the latch strut 117 to release the lever 107, allowing the spring to thrust its forward end upwardly quickly, which, through the link and arm 106 and 105 respectively, causes the blades 45 to swing upwardly -land forwardly ysharply,` flthus throwing the coal vforcibly through the i openings "G.

" .The dropping of the` lever 107 byfmoviiig the strut 117 olf from-'the roller 1-20,l.may Abe caused by a jointed arm 122 ikeyedto the 'shaft 100, and carrying-a roller 126lat1its VV.the roller 120 engaging Ythis cam on 'its downward movement 'is arrested, while the jointed arm 122 continues `allowing f the roller to pass'thevcam. Thus the cam 115 may depressV the lever .107* and the'iatch may engage the'rollerV 120 to set these parts in their lowermost position, andv a subsevquent downward movement fof `tripping lever 122 is prevented byitsflexingmove-V ment from prematurely tripping lthe mech- -f anism operating the throwing blades.

' -The lower cup'for the spring 112 is shown as pivoted at 130 and rigidlyattached tofa lever 131, Vextending upwardlyinto the 'cab and having theusualdog 182 operated by a gripfhandle rod lfandfadapted toV engage a rack 1341y secured tothe cab Vfloor, wherebythe-lever mayY beheld in various positions,'allowing the raising or lowering V of the cap 113 toadjust thecompression of the spring 112, with a result that distribution of theV coal'may be regulated by varying the force applied to the throwing blade.

A summary ofthe operation of my device is as follows: Starting with the-'plungers in the position shown in Fig.-1, the plungers on'the tender are'moved to-their forward position, causing coalto be thrust forwardly and dropped into the hoppers-. The subsequent movement of ytherom'iecting rod 89, rocks the shaft 55 moving the arms 72 and 76, swinging them forwardly, which advances the plungers 'on the locomotive and recedes the plungers on the tender, the latter plungers taking a" new charge of coal. Assuming that the arm 107 hasv been Vdepressed and latched on aprevious movement of the'ashaft 55 vand cam 115,#the finish of the downwardly movement of' the lever causes the p'lungers to'bring the charge of coal onto the throwing blades and thefollowing upward movement of this lever acts through the cam 92, lever 95, hinge' 97 and arm98` to raise the flange stop 49. At the nish of this raisingv movement the? lever 122 causes its roller 126 to 'release the latch, allowing the spring 112 to'raise'itslever, the link 10,6 and lock arm 105, moving the shaft 46 on which both throwing blades'll VI claim is :V

1. In a :conveying dev1ce,lthe` combina? on its inner edge.

the L "coal are fmounted, i thus-f dischargi-ng` I .y n case forcibly through the] openings v-any kcoal lodges between the flangesjlc) and a cover 50, this cover-may vswing upwardly without *injuring the parts."

: From the foregoing'description it vwill be readily combinedflwith means forth/rowing andi distributingthe coalintothe-fire box in thev desiredpOSitiOm-actuatedfby a sim- -pleand effective mechanism. vMy mechanismmay operate VeilicientlyV Vwith various grades or kinds Iof coal; thus, I have found that 'with'the' embodiment "shown in the drawings I can Vsatisfactorilyfeed coal'varying in size fromslack' to adiam'eter'of Yfour inches. Y

Having thusfdescrbed my invention, what tion, with a casing, of-"areciprocating plunger, said plunger having-'ifa series of" steps on the inner side thereof:V

12. VIna device of thecharacter described,

Vthecombination, with a ca`sing, ofa reciprocating plunger .therein'having two separated portions slidable along? the-inner wall of the casing and-each' provided'with steps 3. In a device ofthe'characterpdescribed, the combination,withafcasing, Vof affreciprocating plunger therein having a head and twoprojecting portions which lie adjacent to the interior of the'casing,eac'h of said portions lhaving a series of stepswhich eX- tend from the headof the plunger'to the seenf-that I l have Vprovided Y aneautomatic Y Ystoker, comprising .a novel plunger arrange- `ment-:for feeding coal from the tender of extremity of each projecting portion thereof.

'4.Thecombination-in areonveyer, of aV casing, Y aY reciprocating plunger therein closely fitting the interior walls'thereof and having a series of steps on-the conveying face,` each of said lsteps having kone face which lies in a plane vparallel to the direction of travel. 5.'In a locomotive Stoker, a coal chute and a vertically stepped U-shaped plunger slidablvy mounted in said chute. 6. lIn a locomotive sto'lrer,`a chuteforlead- `ing coal to the' fire box, and a U-shaped plunger in said chute, the inner side walls of which are arranged' infof'fsetsteps progressively farther apart toward the forward end, and 'having a's'eries-'o'f intermediate abrupt shoulders. l l 1 7. A locomotive-Stoker comprising a chute on the tender, a chute onthejlo'comotive having a hopper'for"receivingicolalfrom the first chute, said hopper being'positioned intermediate'the locomotive andjtender, plungers neach of said chutes having-a transverse portion, parallelv forwardly extending portions and offset shoulders whereby .the

` receiving. or rear portion of `the* plunger is narrower on theinside than the forward portion thereof. .5 '.1-

8. In a locomotive Stoker, the combination ofahorizontal chute on the tender, an inclined chute on the locomotive for leading coal adjacent to the fire box, substantially U-shaped plungers in each of 'said chutes, provided with stepped legs, and means on the locomotive for actuating each of the plungers, said means being arranged to move the locomotive plunger a greater distance than the plunger on the tender.

9. In combination a locomotive, a tender, a coal conveyer on the tender, a coal conveyer on the locomotive, said first named conveyer' being adapted to discharge directly into the second, and means on the locomotive for actuating each of the conveyers, said actuating means being arranged to moveithe plungers simultaneously at 'different rates of speed and in opposite directions.

10. In a locomotive Stoker, the combination of a chute on the locomotive for leading the coal to the fire box, a chute on the tender for discharging the coal into the first mentioned chute, stepped plungers in each of said chutes, and means on the locomotive for reciprocating each' of said plungers, said means including a connecting rod to the plunger onl the tender, said rod having joints adapted to allow universal play.

11. In a locomotive stoker, the combina- 1 tion of a conveyer comprising a longitudinal chute, a plunger therein having a transverse rear portion and forwardly separated extending portions, a hopper for directing coal into the chute adjacent to the rear portion of the plunger, and a pivoted member at the top of the chute adapted to rise to accommodate lumps of coal between it and the plunger, and fingers depending from the member and extending into the chute.

12. In a locomotive Stoker, the combination with a locomotive, of a tender, conveyer chutes on the locomotive and tender respectively, the locomotive chute having a hopper on theA end thereof adjacent the tender, a plate on said chute opening upwardly with the free end thereof adjacent the hopper,

Y and means pivoted to the underside of the plate and depending into the chute.

13. In a locomotive Stoker, the combination of a conveyer comprising a longitudinal housing, a U-shaped plunger therein having a transverse'rear portion and a seriesv spectivelyplungers ineach of the conveyers, means on the locomotive for reciprocating theplungers inthe conveyors, said means being arranged to move-thejplungers simultaneously in opposite` directions.

15. Inra, locomotive stoker, the combination of'acconveyer comprising a housing,-a stepped U shaped reciprocating plunger therein, a hopper for directing coal into the housing in front of the rear portion of the plungeiga conveyer housing on the tender, a stepped U-shapedplunger therein, and means on the locomotive for operating the plungers of both conveyers.

`16. In a locomotive stoker, the combination of a conveyer comprising a longitudinal chute, a plunger therein having a transverse rear portion and forwardly extending portions stepped on their inner sides, each of said steps having one face thereof lying in a plane parallel to the direction of travel and another face thereof lying in a plane at right angles to the direction of travel, a hopper forv directing coal in front of the rear portion of the plunger, a chute on the tender overhanging said hopper, a plunger therein for feeding coal along such chute, and means on the locomotive for moving the plungers of both chutes. Y

17. In a locomotive Stoker, the combination, with a fire box, of a plurality of conveyer casings leading thereto, plungers in said ycasings for feeding coal ,therein forwardly, a cross bar connecting said plungers, mechanism on the locomotive for operating the cross bar, hoppers on each of said conveyer casings, conveyers on the tender discharging into said hoppers, respectively, said tender conveyers having plungers, a cross bar connecting them, and mechanism on the locomotive for operating said two cross bars.

18. In a conveying device, the combination with a casing, of a reciprocating plunger closely fitting the interior walls thereof, said plunger having a substantially U-shaped stepped conveying face open toward the front.

19. A locomotive stoker, comprising a horizontal chute on the tender, an inclined chute on the locomotive having a hopper for lreceiving coal directly from the first chute,

and plungers in each of said chutes.

20. A locomotive stoker, comprising independent chutes on the tender and locomotive, the forward end of the chute on the tender extending over the rearward end of the chute on the locomotive at a point intermediate the tender and the locomotive, and plungers in said chutes.

21. A locomotive stoker, comprising a chute beneath the cab floor of the locomotive, a chute beneath the deck of the tender, with its forward end overlapping the rearward end ofthe first mentioned chute, plungers 

